His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj was declared clinically dead in January. His followers, however, insist he’s meditating deeply. The case will now come before the Supreme court of the Indian province of Punjab.

According to the wife and son of Maharaj the man died on the 29th of January due to a heart attack. His death was confirmed by doctors and the police of Punjab. But according to the followers’s of Maharaj’s sect the man has reached ‘Samadhi’, the highest order of meditation in which one becomes one with the universe. Therefore the man is being ‘preserved’ in a freezer in the community.

According to Maharaj’s family the elders of the sect are insisting that he’s still alive so that they can continue to manage his finances. The man is after all one of India’s richest religious leaders, with an approximate 170 million dollars to his name.

The Supreme Court of Punjab has declared the police-report stating that the Maharaj’s death is a ‘religious affair’ invalid. The Court is now looking into the wife and son’s request to research the death and to be able to bury the body.

I translated this article from You are not allowed to view links.
Register or LoginAny thoughts?

= Edit = Correction:According to Aupmanyav:

Quote

The Supreme Court is the highest Court of India and not just of the Indian state of Punjab.

« Last Edit: June 06, 2014, 11:07:05 AM by Mr.Obvious »

Logged

"If we have to go down, we go down together!"- Your mum, requesting 69 last night.

One thing that bothers me is the little ways in which the writer of the article seems to give credit to the idea that Maharaj may be alive. Like how he refers to Maharaj's wife instead of widow and how he states that Maharaj is one of the richest people rather than was one of the richest.

But maybe I'm just looking too much into it.

« Last Edit: June 05, 2014, 01:50:52 PM by Mr.Obvious »

Logged

"If we have to go down, we go down together!"- Your mum, requesting 69 last night.

If his heart and lungs have stopped permanently, he is dead, end of story.

To expand on my viewpoint: This is something that was decided upon by forensic scientists. With the advent of ICUs death became hard to define, and when it comes to forensics that's a bad thing. While not universal, for American forensic pathology purposes death is the moment when heart and lung activity stops forever. That they are perserving makes no difference. Unless he revived his death is final and absolute. Freezing the body the way they did actually increases the case for him being dead - freezing introduces ice crystals which destroy the cells of the body. If he was thawed out his body would undergo decomposition rather quickly because of this damage. He is dead, and he shall remain ded.

"Intellectualization creates a gap or lack of rapport between you and your life. You may think about things so much that you get into the state where you are eating the menu instead of the dinner." -Alan Watts

His followers, however, insist he’s meditating deeply. The case will now come before the Supreme court of the Indian province of Punjab.

The Supreme Court is the highest Court of India and not just of the Indian state of Punjab. 170 million dollars is not a big amount but still the disciples do not want the money to go to the family. We have gurus whose assets are in billions of dollars. Police made it a religious affair because they were suitably bribed. :)